The Bakhtiari (; also spelled Bakhtiyari) are a Lur tribe from the western half of Iran. They speak the Bakhtiari dialect, a sub-branch of the Luri language closely related to Classical Persian.
Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and eastern Khuzestan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Isfahan provinces. Bakhtiari tribes have an especially large population concentration in the cities of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh, Shahr-e Kord, and Andika, and the surrounding villages.
A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (sardsīr or yaylāq) and winter quarters (garmsīr or qishlāq). According to Jean-Pierre Digard, "the Bakhtiari tribe offers the most typical, most complete example of Iranian nomadism."Digard, Jean-Pierre. “Jeux de Structures: Segmentarité et Pouvoir Chez Les Nomades Baxtyâri d’Iran.” L’Homme, vol. 27, no. 102, 1987, pp. 13. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25132467. Accessed 4 Sept. 2026.
Origins Although there have been several suggested theories for the origin of the Bakhtiyaris, historians and researchers generally agree that they are Lurs. Unlike other Lurs, Bakhtiaris primarily identify as Bakhtiari. According to folklore, the Lurs are descended from a group of youngsters who survived and fled from the demon Zahhak, a demonic figure who is mentioned in Zoroastrian mythology, as well as the Shahnameh. They took shelter in Zardkuh and Kuhrang, where they named themselves Lur ("nomadic"). Due to their luck of escaping danger throughout their history, they called themselves bakhtiyar ("fortunate"). In scholarship, it has been suggested Bakhtiyaris are descended from the Uxian tribe, who clashed with the Macedonian king Alexander the Great () in Khuzestan 330 BC.
A second theory suggests that the Bakhtiyaris were originally from Fars, but were settled to the north of Isfahan and Khuzestan after the legendary king Kay Khosrow conquered Media. A third theory suggests that the Bakhtiyaris were descended from the Mardi, a nomadic warrior tribe that lived around the Caspian coast of northern Iran. Due to the close resemblance to the names Bakhtiyari and Bakhtari (Bactrian), some historians have suggested that the Bakhtiyaris are descended from the Greeks who ruled over Bactria. The resemblance between Bakhtiyari and Greek dance has been used as further proof. Other historians consider the Bakhtiyaris to have resided in their area for a long time, and that they named themselves after the ancient Persian word Bakhtar ("the West") due to their geographical position.
Another theory supported by some historians is that the Bakhtiyaris are descended from Izz al-Dawla Bakhtiyar (), the Buyid ruler of Iraq. The name of the latter is first attestation of the word Bakhtiyar. The Bakhtiyaris themselves consider their name to be derived from the word Bakhtiyarwand, the name of the offspring of Bakhtiyar, a distinguished figure of Lur-i Buzurg (Greater Lur).
Etymology The term bakhtiari can be best translated as "companion of fortune" or "bearer of good luck" The term has deep Persian roots, and is the result of two smaller words bakht and yar complied together. Bakht is the Persian word for "fortune" and yar, iar, iari literally means "companion".
The latter designation largely relates to the nature of the tribe's annual "migration". This has to do with the harsh nature of Bakhtiari life, and overcoming of countless difficulties that Bakhtiaris have faced in the Zagros ranges. In this sense, Bakhtiaris view themselves as a hardworking tribe, facing numerous obstacles every day, and yet fortunate enough to overcome each of these challenges as a solid unit.
Nevertheless, the origins of Bakhtiaris are ancient, and it may have very well been the case that the tribe underwent a series of name changes throughout its history. However it is mostly claimed that the designation "Bakhtiari" came largely into use some time in antiquity.Garthwaite., Gene R. Khans and Shahs : a Documentary Analysis of the Bakhtiyari in Iran. New York: Cambridge UP, 1933. Print.
In The Ascent of Man, Jacob Bronowski states that "The Bakhtiari take their name from a legendary herdsman of Mongol times, Bakhtyar," who according to a Bakhtiari origin myth is "the father of [their] people". Bronowski points out similarities between Bakhtyar and the Israelite Jacob, who was also the ancestral patriarch of his nomadic people and a herdsman who had two wives.
History In , Lorestan split into two realms: Lur-i Buzurg (Greater Lur); Lur-i Kuchak (Lesser Lur). The Bakhtiyaris are first attested in history in the early 15th-century. In 1413, the arrival of several Bakhtiyari clans such as the Astarki, Kutwand, Raki, Janaki and Zallaki are mentioned by the Timurid-era historian Mu'in al-Din Natanzi. Under the Safavids, Lur-i Kuchak became known as Luristan-i Fili, while Lur-i Buzurg (extending from Isfahan to Kohgiluyeh and from Shushtar to Behbahan) became Bakhtiyari land. In 1566, Shah Tahmasp I () selected the Astarki chieftain Tajmir as ilkhan of the Bakhtiyari. He was, however, later killed and succeeded by Jahangir Khan Bakhtiyari, who is responsible for splitting the Bakhtiyaris into two groups, the Haft Lang and Chahar Lang. By the time of the reign of Shah Abbas I (), the northern part of Lur-i Buzurg became known as Bakhtiyari.
After the Safavids, the Bakhtiari tribes under Qasim Khan and Safi Khan resisted both the Afghan invasion and the Ottoman invasion, but generally did not agree well with Ali Mardan Khan Feyli, the Vali of Luristan. The Afghans did not penetrate Bakhtiari territory, and their attempted invasion of Kuhgilu resulted in a humiliating failure. When Nader Shah came to power, he appointed Ali Mardan Khan to diplomatic positions in Istanbul and replaced him with Baba Khan Chavushlu as governor of Luristan. Nader Shah sent several expeditions against a new Bakhtiari leader Ali Murad Mamivand Chahar-Lang, eventually executing him and deporting Bakhtiaris to Khorasan. In Khorasan, they distinguished themselves in the assault on Kandahar and returned to their lands after the death of Nader Shah.Minorsky, V. (1986). "Lur". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. .
After the death of Nader Shah, Ali Mardan Khan, a Bakhtiari leader not to be confused with the Vali of Luristan, attempted to take advantage of the power vacuum. In 1750, Ali Mardan Khan and Karim Khan Zand both set up Ismail III at Isfahan, although in 1752, Ali Mardan Khan was defeated and fled to Baghdad where he was assassinated. In 1785, when Jafar Khan Zand had to fall back on Shiraz, groups of Lurs and Turks assembled at Isfahan under former partisans of Ali Murad Khan, although the town was soon occupied by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar who attacked the Bakhtiaris. Ali Mardan Khan, the Bakhtiari leader, had initially allied with Karim Khan Zand before the alliance deteriorated and he was eventually killed. The Bakhtiaris had not forgotten their prestigious status under the Safavids and Afshars, with Ali Mardan Khan almost becoming ruler of Iran, before losing it to the Zands. They remained restless throughout the Zand period. Karim Khan took stricter measures against the Bakhtiaris after retaking Isfahan in 1764, disarming the Bakhtiaris and resettling the Haft-Lang in the Qom and Varamin regions, and the Chahar-Lang in the Fasa region. Bakhtiari warriors were also conscripted by the Zand army.Iran at War: 1500-1988, Kaveh Farrokh, 2011, pp. 141, The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7, From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic, Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly, Charles Melville, pp. 81–82,
Bakhtiari tribal and political structure was considered independent from that of the other Lurs since at least the 1800s.Iranian People: Iranian Ethnic Groups, Vahid Rashidvash, pp. 221, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 3, no. 15, August 2013. The national prominence of Bakhtiari leaders in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the Bakhtiaris becoming widely known, causing their Lur affiliations to be overlooked by some scholars.Iran Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Islamic Republic [2 Volumes], 2008, pp. 484, . The Bakhtiaris were never fully brought under control during the reign of the Qajar dynasty. Initially, the Kunurzi family, descended from a brother of Ali Mardan Khan was leading the Bakhtiaris, although the expedition of Manuchehr Khan Gorji of Isfahan in 1841 had ended the career of the Ilkhani Mohammadtaqi Khan Chahar-Lang, and his family did not recover. In 1846, the Bakhtiarvand or Baydarvand family rose to prominence among the Haft-Lang. At the time, there was a conflict among the Bakhtiari for leadership, with the Ilkhani and Hajji Ilkhani on one side, and the Ilbegi on the other. They eventually established a principle of power-sharing which lasted until 1936 when Reza Shah placed the Bakhtiari territory under direct administration.
Before 1936, the Bakhtiari tribes were virtually autonomous, and were ruled by the Ilbegi and Ilkhani. The Ilkhani and Hajji Ilkhani group were significantly rich, partially because of investments after 1899 from "Messrs. Lynch Bros" after the Bakhtiari road was opened, connecting Ahvaz, Shushtar, and Isfahan, as well as oil concessions after 1905 while the Ilbegi and Ilkhani both received British subsidies in World War I in exchange for Bakhtiari support. The Bakhtiari played a considerable role in the Persian Constitutional Revolution, in alliance with Shia scholars and urban constitutionalist reformers, and achieved local and national prominence. By 1912, seven cities, including Kerman, Isfahan, and Kashan, were governed by Bakhtiari leaders, while Sardar Assad was Minister of War and Samsam ol-Saltaneh was Prime Minister. The Bakhtiaris were near the peak of their historic strength when Reza Shah came to power.Keeping the Peace: Lasting Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts, Daniel Byman, 2002, pp. 109, .
Reza Shah viewed the organization, power, and way of life of the Bakhtiari as incompatible with national modernization on Western lines, and in 1936 he pursued a threefold policy of forcible sedentarization by posting troops to prevent access to migration routes, detribalization by deposing tribe leaders and replacing them with army officers to handle tribal affairs and territorial administration, and deculturation by various means such as the prohibition of beards and obligation to wear Western-style suits and the Pahlavi hat instead of the traditional Bakhtiari costume to which they were deeply attached. Reza Shah had largely been unsuccessful as World War II disrupted the Iranian state apparatus. During those ten years, Bakhtiari losses of livestock were estimated at 60 percent, and the few foreign travelers who visited the Bakhtiaris at that time only spoke of their distress and impoverishment.